By Tyler Petrosino
Directed by Olivia Wilde Booksmart follows Amy and Molly two codependent Academic overachievers on the brink of their High school Graduation, having plans to attend prestige’s schools. When they learn that all the cool kids that partied and they thought didn’t care about school also got into prestige’s schools. While Amy and Molly just worked on academics for four years forgoing parties. This is the first significant conflict in the movie to resolve this Molly decides their going to the end of school party that the popular students are throwing. In hopes of recovering their image as academic robots with the popular students. The only hitch in their plan is the fact that they do not know where the party is, along with the fact that they’re not friends with the popular students. Leading them to go to different clicks parties, from the trying to hard rich kids boat party, to the theater nerds murder mystery party. When they finally make it to the popular students’ party, they separate to pursue their respected love interests.
The second major conflict arises when Amy wants to leave said party shortly after arriving. The two girls get in a massive fight where we learn that Amy isn’t just going abroad for the summer but the whole year and that she has been lying to Molly for months. Then the police raid the party. Molly flees it home with a popular girl who made fun of them earlier. Amy, with the rest of the party hiding from the police in some room in the house. Amy makes a distraction for the other students to escape the cops, getting her self-arrested in the process.
You get the gist of the plot without going into spoiler territory. Overall the movie’s great. It turns from a fun high school buddy film to a film about not judging people and having your friends back. That girl that helped molly get home at the end and made fun of her earlier, her nickname throughout the school is triple A. why? Because she’s famous for giving roadside head/sex. We learn she does this because she lives with her dad and doesn’t want to risk her dad walking in on the deed. Triple-A follows this bit of information with this small speech.
“You know what the worst part is? All the fucking girls call me that, too. I knew Ben and Max and Dick Splinter would say stupid shit I just… I didn’t think the girls would, too.”
This idea of women having each other’s backs is throughout the film. This, I think, showcases it the best. Molly and Amy regularly call back to famous and powerful women throughout the movie. That’s not to say it’s not a Hilarious movie; it’s funny and witty without being too heavy-handed with its theme. All without losing sight of said theme, It balances the humor with its theme incredibly well and with great effect. By the end of the film, Amy and Molly are both more independent from each other and happier. It’s a great watch, and I highly recommend it.
